The exhibition campaign was set to start on Sunday, Sept. 23 with a game between the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators. That contest, along with 59 others between the 23rd and 30th, have been scrapped as a result of the current work stoppage.

Several high-profile preseason games have been lost as a result, including the much-anticipated Frozen Fury, an annual Los Angeles Kings game held in Las Vegas, NV. (Frozen Fury 15 was set to go on Sept. 29 between the Kings and Avs.)

Other noteworthy games to be cancelled include:

Sept. 25: Minnesota vs. Dallas (was to be played in Boise, ID)

Sept. 26: Columbus vs. Washington (was to be played in Baltimore, MD)

Sept. 27: Edmonton vs. NY Islanders (was to be played in Regina, SK)

In addition, the 2012 Kraft Hockeyville preseason game, scheduled for Oct. 3 in Belleville, Ont., has been postponed to 2013.

Actually, there are probably a few season ticket holders who were forced to also buy preseason tickets who are now saving some money, but for the rink employees, nearby bistro employees, NHL staffers, etc., yup, it sucks.

It’s September.
The NFL season has started.
Baseball is nearing the playoffs.
College football is underway too.
NO ONE is going to care if the NHL doesn’t start the season on time…and *that* will hurt the game and EVERYONE in the game: players, owners, coaches, fans. Everyone.
Get your heads out of your sphincters and get a stinkin’ deal signed and START SKATING!!!
Go Wings! : – )

Narrow minded definition of everyone. Parking attendants, concession vendors, local restaurant employees, security, general staff, I’m pretty sure they care. Personally I’m tired of saying nobody cares because that only happens when the author is only considering himself, the owners, and the players. Not the people who actually rely on the cash-flow generated by the games. So yeah, it matters.

I wish this were true, but it really isn’t. I don’t know if you watch football or not, but last year when they basically had to scrap the entire offseason a lot of players looked really bad and a couple players got injured due to not having proper time to get back into game shape.

bauerstick - Sep 24, 2012 at 2:34 PM

See….The Challenges that the N.F.L. is Facing This Season is The Labour Disputes with their

Experienced Referees and Lines Men ! As a fan or a Coach, owner can easily see the Caliber

of a N.F.L. “Replacement ” Referee is not on a Par with their Seasoned Regular Fieldsmen !

The Result will Be Poorly Called Games, indecisive Penalties, False Starts, Unnecessary

And then Gary Bettman said, “Let there be no hockey,”. And there was no hockey. And he looked upon the lack of hockey, and he thought that it was good. He called the lack of hockey “lockout”, to separate it from it’s counterpart, the “regular season”.

If they hired me to negotiate this thing, here’s what I would propose:

1) Define “hockey related revenue” as the owners do. Sorry players, but their definition is based in the reality of running a business. The doctors and hotels are real costs. And players, don’t forget, your endorsement income does not fall into this category, so let the owners have their hotdog stands. If you want a piece of their side business, they might try and lay claim to yours…

2) Agree on a long term split – say 50-50? Regardless of whether that is right or wrong, that’s the only ratio that will resonate with the fans – because it sounds fair.

3) Now, the above 2 conditions actually mean a pay-cut for the players. The current split is 57-43. But the players won’t accept a pay cut. So why dont we implement the split on a sliding scale – starting where we are, and moving to 50-50 over a 5 year window!

4) That means the players get a really great deal over the next few years. To mitigate that, give the owners what they are asking for in terms of rights – UFA and RFA ages, minor league contracts, waiver rules, etc.

With this CBA in place, everyone wins, and everyone saves face.
The league is based on a fair 50-50 split (eventually)
The players dont get a pay cut
The owners get their definition of HRR
The owners get to update the rights and rules of the CBA

I would actually be fine with the majority of the revenue and salary stipulations just laid out. BUT if the owners are getting all of that, the entry level deals remain the same. Players are granted FA after 5 years. Sorry, but if the owners get a chance to make money, then the players deserve that same right. Gives the players multiple opportunities to cash in on their small window.

Yep… ANOTHER lockout, and once again GREED rears its ugly head.How many times do the Owners/Players think they can screw over their CUSTOMERS (Fans) before they no longer have any customers (fans)? This is the LAST time for this dissatified customer, screw the NHL. I will no longer attend any NHL games nor view them on TV (Take note here advertisers). What I have done is to get myself signed up for the local Adult Hockey program in my city and returned to the ice to play the game again… not for a paycheck but for the pure love of the game. My suggestion to other dissatified customers of the NHL is to either play the game or visit a local rink and watch a game or two. At least the players on the ice are playing for the right reason.

hockeyfanchloe - Sep 20, 2012 at 6:02 PM

I would love to see the CUSTOMERS ban together and boycott the first game of the season (whenever it is played). Let the players and owners see what that does to their revenue…Since the two sides can’t agree I think they should be required to go to arbitration.

We the fans should have the final say. We buy the tickets we buy the merchandise and we watch the games on tv . WE PAY THE SALARIES.

lostpuppysyndrome - Sep 20, 2012 at 1:36 PM

Please. Businesses need to be run with the head, not the heart.

eyeh8goodell - Sep 20, 2012 at 3:07 PM

That’s the business model the NHL wanted last time around. The players gave the owners everything they wanted last time around. Let’s not try and blame the players because the model the business “heads” came up with doesn’t work.

tmoore4075 - Sep 20, 2012 at 9:05 AM

Sounds worse when you add up all the games rather than just saying until the end of September. Thanks for making me feel worse.

lostpuppysyndrome - Sep 20, 2012 at 11:05 AM

Come on, get a deal done! The Jets are in St Paul on Oct 2 this year! Grrr…..